Self-propelling car shunter



Mayra;

p 1959 H. H. c. CHRISTIANSEN 2,905,103

SELF-PROPELLING CAR SHUNTER Filed April 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet l 4L i! 17 J 79 22 IN VEN TOR.

BY I W,

Sept. 1959 H. H. c. CHRISTIANSEN 2,905,103

SELF-PROPELLING CAR SHUNTER Filed April 13, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 sac: sa United States Patent 2,905,103 SELF-PROPELLING CAR SHUNTER Heinrich H. C. Christiansen, Pinneburg, near'Hamburg, Germany, assiguor to Rockwell Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung, Hamburg, Germany Application April 13, 1956, Serial No. 578,122 Claims. (Cl. 105-90) mounted in said casing is provided with a push bar and with guiding and controlling handles for the operator. The said handles are connected to the casing by way of a frame adapted to turn in a horizontal plane in respect to the casing, thus allowing the operator to guide and control the shunter either from behind or from the side of theicar to be moved.

It is an object of, this invention to increase the versatil ity of a shunter of the above mentioned type to facilitate its use and increase its efficiency. To this end, the

shunter according to the invention is provided with addi-.

tional pushing means suitably mounted below the push bar and in front of the driving wheel. .Said additional pushing means will enable the shunter to be used also for moving vehicles considerably lower than railway cars, e.g. mining cars. The main push bar may or may not form part of said additional pushing means, which in the one case has its own push bar or front plate and in the other case may make use of the thrust head of the main push bar detached from its normal seat v Further features of this invention regarding, operating and efiiciency of the shunter will be described by way of example in connection with the accompanying drawings in which, in more or less diagrammatic representation:

Figs. 1 and 2 are side elevation and plan view re spectively of a shunter according to the invention,

Fig. 3 is a partial view of a modification.

In the embodiment according to Figs. 1 and 2, a helmet-shaped casing 1 supports an engine 2 and a wheel 3 driven by said engine. The driving and gear changing connections between the engine 2 and the wheel 3 are not shown in the drawing and are located inside said wheel. A fuel tank 4, carburetor 5, mufiler 6 and their pipework are likewise fixed to the casing 1. The reference 7 designates m annular frame supported by the casing 1 and rotatable in a horizontal plane in respect to said casing. A bracket 8 for a jockey wheel 9 in front of the driven wheel 3 and a pair of arms 10 behind the casing I extend from the frame 7 and may be brought into the positions shown in dash lines by rotating frame 7 in the direction of the arrows in Fig. 2.

A push bar or thrust claw 11 is adjustably mounted in the manner of a lifting jack in a base 12 fixed to the casing 1 and has its head stepped as at 13 for engagement with the bottom edge of a car body to be moved. A coupling hook 14 connected to said head will secure the push bar or thrust claw 11 to the car to be moved in operation if so desired.

For guiding and controlling the shunter, two handles 15 and 16 are mounted to the free ends of the arms 2,905,103 Patented Sept. 22, 1959 10, the handle 15 being rigidly fixedto its. arm,,,whereas -mounted.on-sai d sand box, 27,. Tilting ofthe extension the handle 16 is adapted to be turned aboutitslongi tudinal axis for controllingthe throttle of engine 2.,

Near the guiding handle 15, a hand-wheel or gearchange wheel 17 is rotatably mounted on a cross bar 18 of arms 10 for shifting the gears of the power transmission. The gear change wheel 17 by way of bevel-gears (not shown) turns the transmission rod 19 and the spur wheel 20, which in turn moves the change gears of the transmission insidethe gear box 21. gears is indicated by respective numerals in a spy-hole 22 of the gear box 21 which numerals are visible to the operator. s s

The gear change wheel 17 is designed for shifting the annular frame 7 including the parts supported there-j by around the vertical axis of the casing 1. Normally,

however, the annular frame 7 is locked against rotation with regard to casing l and is actuated merely in connection with a gear changing operation. Releasing the locking lever 23 of the turnable handle 16 frees a latch- (not shown) of the frame, so that rotation of the gear change wheel 17 may rotate frame 7 .by way of the transmission rod 19 and spur wheel 20. s

The thrust claw 11 may be raised or lowered in its base 12, to adapt it to, the vehicle to be engaged by its head. To this end, a crank 24 is located. between the arms 10 andis drivingly connected to a nut supporting the shaft of the thrust claw 11 in the same manner as the threaded ram of a telescoping lifting jack.

The crank 24 as well as the gear change wheel 17 and the locking lever 23 are situated in closeproximity to the handles Hand 16 forthe operator, who consequently can perform all guiding, controlling and adjusting work from his place between these handles! more, a latching lever 25 is provided near the end of the right-hand bar 10: to locka prop stand 26 in its po- By merelyreleasing the latch; 25 by means of the knee of the operator, the propstand sition of 'rest (Fig. 2).

26 drops into the position shown in Fig. 1 and allows the shunter to be parked whenynot in uses Skidding of the driving wheel 3 ondirtyory-ice-cova ered ground or rails. will be prevented by actuating a sanding device in front of wheel 3. The sanding de-j viceco mprises a sandbox 27 fixed to the casing land opening intoa tube-likeyextension 2$ ,whichgis tiltab1y 28 is effected by a lever 29, which according to its re- 'spective positions closes or frees the outlet of the sand box 27. In its opening position, the extension 28 guides the sand leaving the box 27 directly to the ground in front of the wheel 3 and-in the case of operating the shunter on a rail-to the surface of said rail. The cable connecting the lever 29 to the extension 28 as well as the cables extending from the throttle twisthandle 16, crank 24, and locking lever 23 are guided by a common flexible tube 30 partially enclosed by the left-hand arm 10.

The shunter according to Figs. 1 and 2 is designed to move railway cars and other vehicles, the bottom face of which lies high enough as to be gripped or engaged by the thrust claw at least in its lowest position. For lower built vehicles such as mining car, the embodiment according to Fig. 3 shows an additional pushing appliance consisting in a fiat-headed ram 31. The vertical thrust face of the ram 31 has mounted thereon a buffer 32 of rubber or other resilient material to protect the frame or other part of the car to be shunted. The ram 31 itself is supported by a tube 33 fixed to the casing 1 in front of the wheel 3 and clear from the annular frame 7. The ram 31 is adjustable relative to and in longitudinal direction of the tube 33 and may be secured in its position by a locking bolt 34.

The actual position of the,"

F urther- For work at night-time the shunter may" he provided with its own' headlamp. According'to'Pigs; 1 and Zsuch headlamp 44 is mounted to the'cross bar' 18- by means ofaball-joint soeket Thecurrent for the head'- larnp" 44 is derived from the ignition systerrrct the engine All parts and accessories 06 the engine Zmay, it" sodesired, be made fire-proof and protected against ex plosions, to" enable the shunter" to be used in gasdilletl rooms or nearinflammable substances suclias' fueli To thisendthe ignition" system; the air intake of the can bur'etor 5 and the outlet of} the muffler- 6 are secured a-manner customary for this ki'nd of accessories whereas the exhaust pi'pesare he'at i-nsulated by suitable cov-- ens; Preferably these protecting means are scaled" against undue access and removal:

What I claim is: e

1. In a single wheel self-propelled carshunter having a casing supported by said Wheel and tiltable-ab'outthe axis of rotation thereofz'a'first cylinder supported by said casing and in normalshunting-posi-tion of said shunter extending upwardly atamaoute angle with regard" to the horizontal plane passing throughthe axis of rotation ofs-aid wheel, a first push rodadjustablymounted in said first cylinder and provided with means for selective engagement with a-car to be shunted,- a second cylinderconnected to said casing at-a level lower than said-first cylinder and formingan: acute anglewith thelatter, a second push" rod adju-stably mounted in said second-cylinder,- said second push rod being provided with means forselective engagement-with the car to be shunted, an enginesu'pport'ed by said casinga-nd drivingly connected to said Wheel, an annular frame carried by said casing androtatabl'e relative theretoabout an axis substantially perpendicular to the axis-ofrotationof said wheel, a jockey wheel, bracket mea-ns supported by said annular frame and-rotatably supporting. said jockey wheel, the means witlrwhich said second. push rod isprovided being arranged in front ofi said-jockey wheel, guiding means connected to said annular framefor guiding said shunter, and control means arranged adjacent said bracket means and operatively connected with said engine for controlling the latter.

2. A car shunter according to claim 1 which comprises tWo separate individually locking means for respectively locking said first and said second push rods in their respective desired positions.

3. A car shunter according to claim 1, in which said second .push rod is in the form of a flat-headed ram.

4. A car shunter according to' claim 1, in which said second push rod is provided with resilient buffermeans arranged in front of said jockey wheel and at a level lower than said second cylinder.

5. In a single Wheel self-propelled car shunter having a casing supportedby said wheel" and tiltable about the axis of rotation thereof: a first cylinder supported by said casing and in normal shunting position of said shunter extending upwardly at an acute angle with regard to the horizontal plane passing through the axis of rotation-of saidwheel, a push rod adjustably' mounted in said first" cylinder and selectively removable therefrom;

said push rod being provided with means for selective" cngagement'with a car to be shunted, a" second'cyli'nder' connected to said casing at a level lower than' saidfi r'st cylinder and forming an" acute angle-"witlithe latter; said second'cylind'er being adapted selectively a'djusta'bly to receive said push rodwitlr theimeans'connected excrete for engagement With" a' smaller car to be shunted, an

engine supported by'said casing and'di'iving'l'y connected to said Wheel, an annular frame carriedby said casing and rotatable relative thereto'aboutan axis-substantially" perpendicular to the axis of rotation of said" wheel,

jockey wheel, bracket meandsuptiortedbysaidannular frame and rotatably supporting said jockey wheel, said jockey wheel being located at a level lower thantlre levelof said second cylinder, guidingmeans comie'cted' to said annular frame for guiding sa-idshunter, and control means arrangedadja'cents'aid bracket'meansand' operatively connected with said engine for controlling the latter.

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